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A SUBTLE GRASP ON THE FIVE SENSES: COGNITIVE METAPHORS IN WINE

MEDIA DISCOURSE

Alina Ţenescu, Assist. Prof., PhD, University of Craiova

Abstract: In this paper1, we aim to explore the figurative language used by wine specialists in

media discourse. Starting from an approach whose overall view is guided by conceptual

metaphor theory, we will analyze and classify conceptual metaphors related to wine and wine

tasting. We will illustrate the identified categories by examples taken from a corpus of

excerpts of Romanian and English media discourse and how wines are described

metaphorically.

Tackling the issue of perception and description of wine in Romanian and English media

discourse allows us an orientation of the research by multiple approaches of the semantics of

winespeak: the recognition of essential aspects of the wine imaginary in our research corpus;

the analysis of sensory impressions and representations in winespeak; an analysis of the main

categories of conceptual metaphors associated with wine and wine tasting notes.

Our main objective is to organize conceptualizations of wine tasting notes into several

categories of cognitive metaphors related to wine, according to the model inspired by the

research of Lakoff and Johnson (1980, Metaphors we live by).

Keywords: conceptual metaphors, description, media discourse, perception, senses, wine,

winespeak.

1. Introduction. Theoretical premises

The theory of metaphor, in the perspective proposed by Lakoff and Johnson in their

book Metaphors We Live By, allows an extension of the use of the concept of metaphor

outside the literary domain. The two authors advance the idea that, far from being a simple

figure of speech aimed to render vivid poetic images, which represents only an aspect of this

concept, the metaphor’s dimension is a whole lot different. The argumentation of this

assertion is done by exemplifying with current expressions, certainly metaphorical, but which,

by continuous use have become routine and have lost the novelty that characterizes metaphors

in literary context, and are not anymore perceived as such by the speaker. On the basis of

these examples we can reconstruct a “pattern” of thinking, situated at the origin of these

expressions, everything being integrated into a coherent structure. The two authors underline,

as an important feature of metaphor, its coherent and systematic character. Thus, metaphor

becomes a verbal materialization of certain mental processes, of mechanisms of thinking that

allow the representation, the acquisition, the understanding, the expression, the memorization

and the organization of abstract cognitive contents. Therefore, this non-literary dimension of

metaphor, which Lakoff and Johnson (1980) label as conventional metaphor, and which is

materialized at the level of speech, is a projection of the way in which the speaker can operate

with abstract concepts, hardly cognoscible, by comparison to the empiric world, with direct

1 The research was carried out within research direction: The discourse and the promotion of the image of wine

in Europe within the framework of the Research Excellence Network in Translation Studies, Communication

Sciences and Terminology, University of Craiova, 2014.

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experience. This new dimension of the metaphor, once emphasized, reveals the coherent and

systematic way in which our knowledge is organized according to a pattern known a priori

and expressed metaphorically.

In their approach to describe the metaphor from a cognitive perspective, the two authors

point out the existence of several metaphorical structures. These are complementary elements,

presenting distinctive features and fulfilling different functions in the same context. They

interact and they are comprised within a system of relationships that allow the creation of a

coherent and logic system of representation of knowledge within a conceptual framework.

The corpus chosen for the study of figurative language used by wine specialists in

media discourse is analyzed starting from an approach whose perspective is directed by

conceptual metaphor theory. The main objective is to classify and analyze categories of

conceptual metaphors related to wine and wine tasting. We will understand how wines are

described metaphorically and we will illustrate the identified categories by examples taken

from a corpus of excerpts of Romanian and English media discourse such as: www.vinul.ro

(an online and printed review containing editorials, news, interviews, portraits, analyses and

articles about wine, movies, TV broadcasts and wine media advertisements, a life-style

section with Romanian traditions and wine legends, as well as a connoisseur section with a

Dictionary of tastes and Lessons in tasting wine), www.winestory.ro (powered by Recaş Wine

Cellars), www.lovewine.ro, www.punctulpevin.ro, www. vinuripovestite.ro, www.zf.ro,

http://www.highburyvintners.co.uk (an independent wine shop for individual tastes), www.

laweekly.com, www.bcawa.ca, and the Illustrated Encyclopedia of Wine2 (Stuart Walton:

2011).

Dealing with the issue of perception and description of wine in Romanian and English

media discourse allows us an orientation of the research by several approaches of the

semantics of winespeak: the identification of essential aspects of the wine imaginary in our

research corpus; the analysis of sensory perceptions and representations in winespeak; an

analysis of the major categories of conceptual metaphors associated with wine and wine

tasting notes.

Looking at the organization of conceptualizations of wine tasting notes into several

categories of cognitive metaphors related to wine, the overall purpose of our paper is to

identify various aspects of metaphors in the language of wine tasting and establish the main

characteristics of these metaphors in English and Romanian media discourse.

Several authors and researchers (Caballero, Diaz-Vera: 2013; Suárez-Toste: 2007;

Caballero and Suárez-Toste: 2010, 2008, Lehrer: 2009, Paradis, Eeg-Olofsson: 2013) have

asserted that conceptual metaphors are pervasive in wine media discourse and in wine tasting

discourse. In order to explain the wide array of sensations and perceptions in the wine tasting,

several metaphorical extensions are employed and these rely upon different source domains

such as human beings or organisms, plants, objects and so on. Since it has been argued that

the organicist-animist metaphor is the most conspicuous, we will verify whether or not the

conceptual frame WINE IS A LIVING BEING/HUMAN BEING is a recurrent schema in

both Romanian and English wine media discourses. Adopting a comparative perspective, the

2 Within the corpus of examples we will use the following abbreviations: VL for vinul.ro, WST for winestory.ro,

LW for lovewine.ro, PV for punctulpevin.ro, VP for vinuripovestite.ro, HV for highburyvintners.co.uk, ZF for

zf.ro, IEW for the Illustrated Encyclopedia of Wine, LAW for laweekly.com and BW for bcawa.ca.

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current paper presents the results of a research also aimed at identifying similitude and

variations in the realisation of the metaphor in Romanian and English wine media discourse.

We chose the media genre of wine reviewing as primary source of information about

sensory perceptions related to wine tasting and wine drinking since almost all the excerpts of

reviews in our corpus provide descriptions of all sensory experiences - that is vision, taste,

smell and touch, and they also allow holistic remarks on the understanding and perceptiveness

of the experience of the wine on the basis of all four.

2. Wine metaphors in Romanian and English media discourse

Peculiar conceptual metaphors have been identified as characteristic of particular

discourses. Starting from the primary categories of cognitive metaphors identified by

Caballero and Suárez-Toste (2008) in the language of wine reviewing and wine tasting in

English – 1) WINES ARE LIVING BEINGS, 2) WINES ARE CLOTHES, 3) WINES ARE

THREE-DIMENSIONAL ARTIFACTS, 4) WINES ARE BUILDINGS, 5) WINES ARE

SHAPEABLE PIECES OF WOOD OR METAL BUILDING MATERIALS – our corpus-

based research aims to check whether or not evidence is given of the five conceptual

metaphors in both Romanian and English media discourses and whether or not other

categories of metaphor can be identified as exclusive characterizations of wine in Romanian

media discourse.

These metaphorical expressions are not to be considered as mere figures of speech, but

rather as terms endowed with a referential function that correspond to a specialized language

and vocabulary. This language is reflected in specialized magazines and websites whose

target-public is represented by wine professionals, as well as non-specialized wine drinkers.

That is why our data sources are represented by wine reviews and articles and wine tasting

notes published in online magazines in 2014 and in the printed Illustrated Encyclopedia of

Wine (Stuart Walton: 2011). Most of the metaphorical expressions in our corpus are conveyed

by verbal collocations and adjectives followed by nouns.

The organicist-animist metaphor WINE IS A HUMAN BEING is reflected in our

corpus by a wide array of instantiations:

(1) “Pegasus Bay Maestro (2007/2009) is robust and muscular, but at the same time plush

and velvety”. (HV)

(2) Wanaka Road Pinot Noir (2012): “Central Otago’s relatively warm climate produces

Pinots that are muscular, broad and structured”. (HV)

(3) Syrah Polgar (2008): “Constituţia este una zveltă, cu tanini încă tineri, iar aromele se

menţin compacte, intense, gata să fie descoperite”. (VL, PV)

(4) Terrunyo Carmenere (2008): “Culoarea intensă face intrarea unui vin muscular şi

amplu, care după prizonieratul de 19 luni petrecut în stejar franţuzesc face tot ce-i stă în

putere să impresioneze”. (VL, PV)

(5) “Mai bătrân cu un an, Syrah-ul (99% Syrah, 1% Pinot Noir), aduce, surprinzător, ceea

ce îi lipseşte Pinot-ului”. (VL)

(6) “Mai corpolent decât fratele sau din 2011, cu o structură mai solidă, capabilă să susţină

mai bine complexul aromatic, vinul s-a impus la limita in fata altui vin ce urmează să

intre în gama Colocviu, Feteasca albă”. (VL)

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(7) Chateau Talbot (2009): “Extremely sexy, soft, supple and opulent, with notes of cedar,

herbs, incense and black currant fruit, this is a full-bodied, generously endowed but

silky Bordeaux to drink now and over the next 20+ years. By any standard of

measurement, this is irresistible”.(HV)

(8) Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte (2007): “Un vin impecabil structurat, cu o aciditate vioaie

şi taninuri energice si granulate. Echilibrat, distins, savuros”(VL)

(9) “Nemea Agiorgitiko 2007, un vin foarte elegant, complex, cu o expresie aromatică

bună”; “Noile vinuri Aurelia Vişinescu- „Sofisticate si elegant de simple””, “Surpriza

Rotenberg de anul acesta este însă vinul Primus 2008, continuatorul lui Merlot Cramele

Rotenberg 2006, un vin elegant şi mai aşezat[…]”(VL)

(10) „Primul dintre ele, The Hedonist, a fost un Shiraz clasic, bogat în alcool (14,5%), cu

intensitate medie a aromelor de fructe de pădure, care atacă papilele gustative destul de

liniştit, calm”. (VL)

(11) “Dragă Mirela şi dragă Vincent, aţi făcut un vin roşu competent” (VL)

The organicist-animist metaphor activates an intricate metaphorical schema which

highlights different aspects of wine, such as personal quality: echilibrat (well balanced), distins

(distinguished), competent (competent, qualified) and physical quality: robust, muscular, broad,

structured, zvelt (lean-limbed), amplu (ample), sexy, full-bodied, generously endowed.

The organicist anthropomorphic metaphor can be divided into a five-patterned design3

that emphasizes olfactory, visual, tactile and gustatory facets of wine:

Metaphorical design Wine element Linguistic metaphor

Age within human lifecycle Wine lifecycle tânăr(young), bătrân (old), older, maturer,

evolved (evoluat), îmbătrânit (old-aged)

Physical traits/anatomy Structure zvelt (lean-limbed), cărnos (fleshy)

Body and

balance

muscular, broad, structured, amplu (ample),

full-bodied, robust, sexy, soft, supple, bine

lucrat (well worked), lusty

Alcohol level corpolent (corpulent)

Personality and temperament

features

Balance,

alcohol and

aroma

echilibrat (well balanced), distins

(distinguished), competent (competent,

qualified), prietenos (friendly), brooding

Intensity of

flavours

auster (austere), aşezat(settled)

Economic status Wine wealth bogat (rich)

General appearance General

appearance

elegant, classic, sofisticat (sophisticated),

elegant de simple (elegant in their

simplicity), complex, aşezat(quiet, tranquil),

interesant (interesting)

3 Also consult Bratož’s (2013: 28-30) case study comparing the realization of anthropomorphic metaphor in

Slovene and English winespeak and the four-element metaphor schema profiled by Isabel Negro (2012:5-7).

Negro emphasizes the importance of the metaphorical schema built around the wine’s body.

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If we observe the schemata - physical appearance and personality - temperament, we

can assert that at the core of them we discover a large number of metaphors describing wine

ingredients bearing upon smell and vision (aşezat(quiet, tranquil), ), auster (austere)), and

intensity of flavours (auster (austere), aşezat(settled)), which is defined in correlation with

alcohol and tannin level (corpolent (corpulent)), balance and general appearance (echilibrat

(well balanced), distins (distinguished), elegant). Wine balance is metaphorically portrayed

by physical strength (muscular, broad, structured, amplu (ample), full-bodied, robust, lusty),

physical attractiveness (sexy, soft, supple), as well as by an inner quality – that is distinction

in terms of style and behaviour (elegant, classic, sofisticat (sophisticated), aşezat (quiet,

tranquil).

The metaphorical expressions built around the wine’s body and its balance refer to a

human being’s physical structure and gender role. Gender metaphors attribute a sexual role to

wines as well as male or female properties as in the examples below:

(12) “Cele două vinuri au avut o interpretare diferită a cupajelor Bordeaux: Le Volte a

reprezentat stilul clasic, cu un caracter mai auster şi bărbătesc, in timp ce Septentrion a

fost mai catifelat şi cu un fruct mai intens”; “La capătul opus, un vin masculin este

puternic, corpolent, taninos, cărnos şi mai structurat”. (VL)

(13) Cuvée Amélie (2012): “Amelie este numele bunicii Cristianei Stoica, şi a fost important

pentru noi să dăm o nota de feminitate acestui vin”. (VL)

Finally, wine lifecycle overlaps human lifecycle. A wine can pass through different human

life stages: youth (tânăr(young)), maturity (matur (mature), maturer), old age (older).

The major stages in a wine’s lifecycle are youth, maturity and ageing.

(14) “Un vin roşu tânăr, sau chiar un alb matur şi puşin baricat poate da o notă de distincţie

acestui fel de mâncare destul de primăvăratic“. (VL)

(15) “Each year, a quantity of base wine is held back in reserve and small amounts of this

older, maturer, wine are used to give a softer feel and more complex flavour” […]

(IEW, 2011: 116)

(16) “Churchills White Port: “ Its naturally rich, golden colour is the result of 10 years

ageing in wood”. (HV)

We can notice that with the organicist anthropomorphic metaphor WINE IS A

PERSON, linguistic terms related to wine’s anatomy and wine’s age are descriptive, whereas

terms referring to the domains personality and temperament and general appearance are

evaluative and highly subjective.

What is surprising is that amongst these anthropomorphic metaphors we discover

strange mappings associating wine with a human prisoner escaping from the constraining

space of an oak cask (see e.g.4), or associating it with pejoratively connoted terms whose

meaning is diverted and paradoxically turned positive:

(17) “Vinified dry, Muscat Ottonel can be bracingly tart […](IEW, 2011: 120)

(18) “It’s also an opportunity if you have a slutty, oak-y California chardonnay that’s been

languishing in your cellar or cabinet […]? What makes a white wine “slutty”?

LA: Let’s talk about the theory of a slut. A slut is inviting, is open, is warm, maybe kind

of simple and one-dimensional and seduces you with really obvious charm. A slut does

not invite contemplation - it’s very inviting and hard to resist. These really voluptuous

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California Chardonnays are not my kind of wine, but if I had one in my cellar that

someone had given me, that’s a good time to drink that wine […] (LAW)

Although terms like “tart4” and “slutty”, usually convey negative connotations, these are

paradoxically used as positive assessment terms in reference to wine sugar content and

flavour bringing about its personality traits: with slutty voluptuous Californian Chardonnays

the taster perceives a non-conspicuous but definite level of sugar, whereas the overall

impression does not come from the residual sugar, but from the vanilla flavour on the oak and

the alcohol combined in order to render it luscious.

WINES ARE PIECES OF GARMENT

This metaphor category relies upon features of wine conveyed through gustative, tactile,

olfactory and visual perception. We propose a re-organization of the three-element

metaphorical schema proposed by Negro (2012:6-7) into a five-patterned metaphorical design

containing the following sub-divisions:

Metaphorical design Wine element Linguistic metaphor

Clothes Visual traits robă (literally translated as robe)

Balance stofă (cloth)

Material Type of

material/wine’s

anatomy

lace, laced

Sugar content velvety/catifelat

Properties:

shading,

specularity,

reflectivity,

color,

transparency

opac (opaque), strawberry pink, pământiu

(sallow), cărămiziu (brick-coloured),

strălucitor (sparkling, shining), curat

(clean), vibrant, dark, sumbru (shadowy),

cernelos (inky), viscous, limpede (clear,

transparent)

Texture Type and

structure

silky, interwoven

Physical feel smooth, rough, gritty

Way of dressing Quality of

flavours

ţinută

Exterior appearance Exterior

appearance

elegant, classic, sofisticat (sophisticated),

elegant de simple (elegant in their

simplicity)

(19) ”Chateau Grand Corbin 1999 se prezintă într-o robă cărămizie. Initial nasul e inchis, dar

se deschide în note de dulceaţă de cirese, note vegetale (ca de brusture) şi praf de talc”.

(VL, PV)

(20) “Auzi, dragă, ce robă pământie are vinul ăsta”. (VL)

4 ”Tart” might also refer to a sharp quality of a young (red) wine, with excessive acidity and tannin.

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(21) Feteasca neagră Reserve (2002): “Un vin evoluat, bine lucrat, cu o încarcatură, culoare

si buchet deosebite. Are stofă!” (VL)

(22) Cuvée Jean-Paul Rose (2013): “This vivid pale strawberry pink Rose displays aromas of

crushed red berries, laced with an exotic twist”. (HV)

(23) “Casa de Mouraz Tinto has a velvety mouth feel, well balanced fruit and soft tannins”.

(HV)

(24) “Pinot Noir La Cetate Miracol Crama Oprişor este un vin tânăr, remarcat prin tipicitate

etalând note intense de vişine, condimente, fiind un vin foarte prietenos, datorită

acidităţii bine integrate, ce îl face sa para suav, catifelat”. (LW)

(25) “Culoarea îl apropie de Bordeaux, un roşu sumbru, opac”. (LV)

(26) Sauvignon Recaş: “Strălucitor, curat si tipic, cu multe note ierboase” (LV)

(27) Rijks Estate Pinotage 2009: “The palate is rich and creamy with silky, harmonious

tannins”.

(28) Cafaro Merlot (2011): “Velvety smooth on the palate with good fruit character balanced

by the soft, round tannins and lengthy finish”;

(29) Ata Rangi Martinborough Pinot Noir (2012): “Taut and restrained when young, this

vibrant pinot will in time reveal an earthier side, along with voluptuous fruit and silky

tannins (HV)

(30) Macia Batle Reserva Privada 2010: “A dark, brooding wine with concentrated ripe

fruit, toast, smoke and spice notes from the oak”. (HV)

(31) “A smooth wine of a silky texture that leaves no gritty, rough sensation on the palate”.

(BW)

(32) “In rândul entuziaştilor vinului, numele Masi reprezinta vinuri Valpolicello de înaltă

ţinută”. (LV); I heart Chardonnay Recaş 2013: “Limpede, dar nu îndeajuns de

satisfăcător”. (WST)

The metaphor WINES ARE PIECES OF GARMENT incorporates five schemata: the

clothes schema, the material schema, the texture schema, the way of dressing schema and the

exterior appearance schema. At a contrastive approach, we notice that Romanian language

and Romance languages are endowed with richer means of expressing visual features and

quality of aromas such as: robă and ţinută (in French: “robe et tenue du vin”) which lack from

English vocabulary; English reformulates and translates the two terms by “appearance and

colour of wine” and “wine behaviour”.

The “robe” refers to the visual analysis of wine as cloth, whereas “ţinută” (Fr. tenue)

refers to a person’s way of dressing, as well as to port and demeanour and it is metaphorically

conveyed by wine smell, whereas nouns and adjectives which denote clothes’ materials and

textures (lace, laced, silky, smooth, rough, gritty) construe how we interpret wine mouthfeel.

While texture conveys the physical feel of wine on the palate - smooth, rough, gritty-, a

material refers to basic properties of wine’s body such as shading, specularity, reflectivity,

color and transparency (opac (opaque), strawberry pink, pământiu (sallow), cărămiziu (brick-

coloured), strălucitor (sparkling, shining), curat (clean), vibrant, dark, sumbru (shadowy),

cernelos (inky), limpede (clear, transparent)).

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WINES ARE OBJECTS/ARTIFACTS

Wines are also seen as shaped objects with a certain volume, length, surface, texture and

consistency. Unlike Negro who identifies a four-patterned metaphorical design, we contend

that this metaphor may be decomposed in six schemas:

Metaphorical schema Wine element Linguistic metaphor

Shape Body plat (flat)

Acidity knife-edged

Balance rotund (round)

Volume Balance opulent (e.g.7), amplu (ample)

Colour density profound/profund

Length Taste length scurt (short) as opposed to lung (long)

Surface Surface

identification-

type and

absorption

slate, gravel

Texture Tannin content thick, viscous, dens (dense)

Consistency Alcohol level moale (soft, flabby), solid

(33) Negru de Drăgăşani (2006): “[…]interesant, mineral si usor ierbos, susţinut de

aciditatea ridicată, cu toate că este un pic cam scurt” (VL)

(34) Fetească regală Zoreşti: “plat, scurt, dar destul de prietenos. Finalul arata niste tonuri de

vin îmbătrânit…”

(35) Durup Eglatière Chablis (2012): “There are buckets of minerality elegantly balanced

with the knife-edged apple flavoured acidity”. (HV)

(36) Merlot Prince Mircea (2008): “Nasul etalează un complex elegant şi rotund de vişine

amărui, trufe, condiment şi cutie de lemn, cu nişte subtonuri cerneloase”. (VL);

Allegrini La Poja 2006: “the 2005 La Poja is rich and full-bodied on the palate, with

great structure and balance, rounded, spicy cherry-blackberry fruit and a long, spicy

finish”. (HV)

(37) Vina Tobia Tempranillo (2007): “Buchet sec, structurat, amplu şi echilibrat. Gust lung

şi persistent, amărui şi foarte elegant”.

(38) Churchills Tawny Port: “'Unquestionably the finest Tawny I’ve tasted in years. What

makes it profound is its complex fragrance of roasted nuts and sweet fruit. There is

impeccable definition and richness, a velvety texture and a long lusty finish”. (HV); “Un

vin intens, complex si profund, cu un bun echilibru gustativ si o aciditate revigorantă şi

postgust susţinut”. (VL)

(39) “Cros’ Lo Sang del Pais is quite supple with juicy raspberry and cherry flavours

underpinned by slate and gravel notes”. (HV)

(40) Chateau de Malle Sauterne (2009): “Thick and viscous. Goes on and on“. (HV)

(41) Iedul cu vin rosu şi ienupăr are evidente senzaţii olfactiv-gustative condimentate, o

suculenţă accentuată, grăsime şi tendinţă dulce, […] care cere un vin dens si de caracter,

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de exemplu Lagrein dell’Alto Adige, moale şi cald, cu o reţea densă de taninuri

impletite foarte fin şi o notă finală condimentată. (VL); “Clos du Val Pinot Noir (2010):

“Well integrated fruit and toasted wood, that adds a dollop of cream, combine with a

solid backbone of acid and tannin to create a balanced and structured wine”. (HV)

(42) “[…]vinul Avincis conţine în sine expresia terroir-ului locului, este construit ţinând

seama de soiurile tradiţionale ale podgoriei de familie”. (VL)

The schemata of shape and volume prove to be the richest, since shape is applied to

construe wine’s body, acidity and balance (plat/flat, knife-edged, round), while volume

applies to description of balance and colour density (opulent, amplu/ample, profound). Wine

balance is conveyed by adjectives denoting the shape and volume of an object.

WINES ARE BUILDINGS

Metaphorical expressions refer to wine’s body and structure, tannin content and overall

quality in terms of properties and actions of building and of architectural traits. The

architectural representation of wines is suggested by reference to the action of building a

structure (the wine’s structure (construit/built) or to the type of building (a blockbuster

building):

(43) “[…]vinul Avincis conţine în sine expresia terroir-ului locului, este construit ţinând

seama de soiurile tradiţionale ale podgoriei de familie”. (VL); Ostertag Riesling

Muenchberg Gran Cru 2010: “This blockbuster of a wine is built for the long term and

will reward cellaring“. (HV)

as well as by reference to constitutive elements of wine (see Caballero, Suárez-Toste, 2008:

249) such as tannins (impecabil structurat (faultlessly structured) e.g. 8) or to the properties

of the building (somptuos(sumptuous)):

(44) “Château La Croix Cardinal 2006 e un vin somptuos, elegant, care necesită cel puţin o

oră de aerare”. (VP)

WINES ARE SHAPEABLE PIECES OF WOOD OR METAL BUILDING MATERIALS

Since Caballero, Suárez-Toste (2008:241) have already portrayed views of wine as

shapeable wood or metal in English language (identifying metaphorical expressions that make

use of adjectives such as “molten” or “rough-hewn”), we are interested to see if this metaphor

category is to be found in Romanian wine media discourse. The perceptual mode of tasting

enriches wine description in Romanian:

(45) Saint Emilion Grand Cru Chateau les Baziliques (2009): “I-am pus alăturea nişte

brînzeturi şi sticla parcă s-a topit” (VL); “Oferta, dedicată în mod evident zilei de Sf.

Valentin, a fost complimentată de o selecţie de ciocolată făcută de Vinul.ro, în care au

stralucit (şi s-au topit voluptos printre papile) vinul şi câteva produse Zotter”. (VL)

We encounter the metaphor of wine as molten metal in Romanian media discourse:

wine and recipient melt together with fine cheese assortments in the eater’s palate or wine and

chocolate melt voluptuously amongst gustative papillae.

Apart from these five categories, we identify in our research corpus other three

metaphorical categories which are not classified in Caballero & Suárez-Toste’s typology.

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The metaphor WINES ARE FOODS AND SPICES/HERBS outlines wine’s structure

and body. A wine like Negru de Drăgăşani (2006) can be: “[…] interesant, mineral si usor

ierbos” (interesting, mineral and slightly herbal) whereas Lacrima lui Ovidiu 12 (Ovid’s

Teardrop 12) is “catifelat, cremos, alcoolul fiind foarte bine integrat” (velvety, creamy, the

alcohol being well integrated). Other wines, Chardonnays especially, are unctuous and

greasy, but endowed with a robust and round body.

(46) “Despre Chardonnay, toate bune, onctuos si puternic, cu un corp robust, dar

rotund”. (VL)

(47) Atamisque Malbec (2012): “[…] the palate is powerful but not over-bearing,

finishing very long with an unctuous array of black fruits and a lick of

liquorice”. (HV)

The molten metal metaphor is replaced by the molten chocolate metaphor as wine tastes

of chocolate molten in olive oil in Romanian winespeak:

(48) “Gustul este puternic, marcat de fructe roşii, mure şi rozmarin sălbatic, iar

postgustul lung, lasă o delicoasă impresie de ciocolată cu lapte şi cipsuri de

cafea, topită în ulei de măsline”.(VP)

Negro (2012:8) argues that synaesthetic food and spices metaphors shape the perceptual

way of tasting in relation to other modes of perception rendering wine description richer.

Synaesthetic metaphors show us that wine tasting relies upon a human experience involving

simultaneously two or more senses: taste and hearing. These metaphors imply a “cross-

sensory” and multi-sensory mapping where hearing becomes involved in the construction and

shaping of taste. That is why wine tasting is metaphorically conveyed as listening to music,

and illustrated by metaphorical expressions in both Romanian and English registers:

note/notes, registru/register, harmony/harmonious (armonie, armonios):

(49) Chocalan Cabernet Franc Reserva (2012): “Oak-ageing lends more complexity with

roasted notes of toffee, chocolate and spices. It is full-bodied, velvety, with good weight

and a round”. (HV); Tohani Princiar Sauvignon Blanc 2010: “E un borş destul de fin,

fără note drojdioase, o expresie pură a acidului citric” (VL)

(50) Ceptura Rosé (2011): “Gustul mult mai expresiv decat nasul demareazâ într-o suită de

senzaţii dulci-glicerice, de cireşe şi mandarină, virând apoi într-un registru citric,

puternic condimentat şi mineral”. (VL)

(51) Blason Cabernet Franc (2012): “Harmonious on the palate, moderate tannins work in

tandem with the berry fruit flavour to deliver a wine you won’t forget in a hurry”. (HV)

Wine tasting is not only metaphorically rendered by music composition; its

metaphorical design also refers to sections or parts of music composition as we can observe in

the example below. A music composition has an opening key, a development and an end

(final). With well-balanced wines, as with good music composition, the end is “long and

consistent” (final lung şi consistent)

(52) Revelatio Davino (2008): “Energic şi inteligent lucrat, cu o puternică infuzie aromatică

de cremene care pune în valoare notele ierboase, ce evoluează apoi spre citrice şi

piersică verde. Un cupaj cu gust intens, armonios, susţinut de o aciditate ridicată, ce se

desăvârseste într-un final lung şi consistent […]”. (VL)

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Synaesthetic metaphors make us understand that wine tasting does not solely rely upon a

human experience involving simultaneously taste and hearing, but it also confides in smell

and hearing. Taste and hearing and smell and hearing are coupled together so that the

metaphorical design overlaps between several source domains in order to convey a thorough

description of the wine smell, taste, balance, quality and mouthfeel:

(53) Alma de Tobia Alb (2006): “Miros complex si armonios. Buchet plăcut, untos, trecere

lungă, bine echilibrat, structurat. […]Armonios şi cărnos”. (VL)

Not only do we find that in our research corpus wine tasting is metaphorically rendered

as listening to music, but wine itself is metaphorically construed as music composition. WINE

IS MUSIC metaphor is illustrated by a conceptualization of wine as extended dramatic

composition, as a form of musical and dramatic art, as a drama set to music, made up of vocal

pieces with orchestral accompaniment and orchestral overtures and interludes, that is - as

genuine opera:

(54) Ornellaia Tenuta dell Ornellaia 2007: “Dense, meaty and serious nose. Toasty and deep.

This wine is an opera - drama and music, opulence and beauty, highly disciplined and

deeply expressive. Liquorice, spicy jewelled fruit. Muscular, polished tannins.

Magnificent”. (HV)

The metaphoric configuration of wine in Romanian and English online and printed

reviews shows it not only as a magnificent opera performance, combining drama and music,

interweaving opulence and beauty, but also as a true WORK OF ART and FINANCIAL

INVESTMENT.

(55) „Mă număr printre extrem de puţinii şi fericiţii deţinători de Busuioacă de Bohotin

veritabilă“, spune Burduja, care se grăbeşte să adauge că diferenţa dintre un vin veritabil

şi un vin industrial este diferenţa dintre o operă de artă originală şi reproduceri”. (ZF)

A true wine is a genuine work of art, as opposed to industrial wines which are mere

reproductions; a true wine also represents a complex financial investment. We gradually

become aware that wine does not function as a central bank or as money printing or as a

common investment. Even if it is a financial investment, it is an investment which requires

patience, high level of qualification and refinement, according to M. Burduja. Both wine and

banking are conceived by him as forms of art, an art which involves know-how as well as

sensitivity to beauty and aesthetics.

Conclusion

We conclude that the metaphors illustrated in Romanian and English wine media

discourse do not only uncover the way wine specialists (oenologist engineers and professional

wine experts/tasters) and non-specialized drinkers and tasters conceptualize wine, but they

also function as an effective means for rendering the intricate sensory experience of tasting

and drinking wine to others. Our research provides a systematic corpus analysis of the range

and occurrences of metaphors associated with wine and wine tasting in Romanian and English

media discourse. The analysis reveals the lexical richness in Romanian and English and it also

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345

makes us become aware that the metaphoric configuration of wines in Romanian and English

reviews emphasizes the high frequency and centrality of the organicist anthropomorphic

metaphor, without excluding other mental images of wine, peculiar images, such as that of

wine as music, as work of art or as financial investment that rather rely upon the

conceptualization of wine tasting as a system of complex experiences and sensations,

involving the mastership of visual, olfactory, gustative and tactile mental imagery. Wine

media discourse constructs and reconstructs emotional and sensory experiences through the

richness of the metaphorical thought built around the conceptualization of wine and wine

tasting.

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